Spreader stoker apparatus



QAEEA m JERRY p Wm. B. J. MOSSHART SPREADER STOKER APPARATUS 2Sheets-Sheet 1 iled Sept. 30, 1.9 13

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ATTORNEY Judy R, Wm, B. J. MOSSHART SPREADER STOKER APPARATUS Filed.Sept. 30, 1.9455 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 WB'TFWL IINVENTUW mwmw JWMMWWK MTQRNIEPatented July 1, 1947 Donald J. Mosshart, Ardmore, Pa., assignor toWestinghouse Electric Corporation, East Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporationof Pennsylvania Application September 30, 1943, Serial No. 504,395 9Claims. (01. 110-115) This invention felates to stokers, moreparticularly to those of the spreader or sprinkler" type, and it has foran object to provide improved apparatus of this character.

In spreader stokerapparatus, where the fuel is pushed rearwardly overthe discharge end of a spill plate by reciprocating rams, the fuel sofed frequently falls in large bodies or chunks from the rear end of thespill plate to the rotary impeller therebelow. This condition isaggravated when the fuel is wet, and even with dry fuel, the fuel fallsfrom the spill-plate in sufficiently uneven quantities and at suchuneven rates that the feeding thereof by the rotary impeller to theinterior of the furnace is generally erratic. Where the fuel fallsuniformly from the spill plate to'the rotary impeller, the impactbetween the impeller blades and the fuel is substantially uniform, butwhere the fuel falls in irregular and large masses, there is acushioning effect resulting in non-uniform distribution of the fuel bythe rotary impeller.

The present invention provides means for effecting uniform feed of thefuel from the rear discharge end of the spill plate to the rotaryimpeller. This apparatus involves a corrugated plate extendingtransversely of the spreader mechanism, together with means forreciproeating the same, thetransversely-extending plate being corrugatedvertically and being so posit'ioned that reciprocation thereof causesthe ribs of the corrugations to rub upon the fuel as it ap proaches thedischarge end of the spill plate, thereby reducing the size of the massof fuel by a grating or shredding action, the grated or shreddedparticles of fuel falling uniformly to the rotary impeller therebelow.

Therefore, another object of 'the invention is to provide, in spreaderstoker apparatus, means for effecting uniform feed of fuel to the rotaryimpeller.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide means for reducing touniform size, masses of fuel of irregular size, prior to deliverythereof to the impeller.

Another object of the invention is to provide, in a spreader stoker,transverse reciprocable mechanism for grating or shredding the fuel touniform size immediately prior to its delivery from the hopper to therotary impeller.

These and other objects are effected by the invention aswill be apparentfrom the following description and claims taken in accordance with theaccompanying-drawings, forming a part of this application, in which:

Fig. 1 is a transverse sectional view through spreader stoker mechanismembodying the principles of the present inventiom Fig. 2 is afragmentary plan view of the structure shown in Fig. 1, with portionsthereof broken away for the sake of clearness;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line III--III of Fig. 1,looking in the direction indicated by the arrows;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged plan viewof a portion the apparatus shown in Figs.1 to 3; and, Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken along the line VV of Fig.4, looking in the direction indicated by the arrows.

Referring now'to th drawingsmore in detail, and particularly, to Figs. 1and 2, the reference character l0 indicates, in its entirety, spreader.mechanism for delivering fuel through the opening II in the front walll2 of the furnace l3, to the grate structure 14 within the latter.

The spreader mechanism comprises a hopper Hi from which fuel dischargesby gravity to the bottom plate I! of the ram box l8. As best indicatedinFig. 2, .the'ram box is provided with a plurality of vertical partitionsl9 extending from front to rear thereof and. serving to space the seriesof rams-2l, 22 and 23.

Reciprocatory motion is imparted to the rams through a'linkagearrangement comprising links 26 or 21 connected at one end to a ram andat the other end to one end of a bar 28, fixedly secured 0n the verticalshaft 30, which shaft is journaled for limited rotary motion in thelower and upper support plates 3| and 32, respectively, carried by theram box structure l8. Extending rearwardly from each vertical shaft 30is a lever arm 34, disposed at right angles to the arm 28 and havingtheir free ends pivotally connected to the transversely-extending shaftor bar by pins 36. Transverse reciprocatory motion is imparted to thebar 35 by suitable means, such as the engine 31, operating through thelink 38, having a slot and pin connection 39 with the bar 35.

In order to prevent clogging of the ram structure by fuel sittingsworking forwardly into the ram box, the latter is provided with aninterior groove or recess 40 having inlet and outlet connections 4 laand Mb, respectively, whereby air or liquid may be continuously passedthrough the groove 40 to remove siftings finding their way theretothrough the joints between the rams and the ram boxstructure.

Fuel from the hopper I6 is fed rearwardly by the rams over the bottomplate ll of the ram box to the spill plate 45 and rearwardly therealongto the discharge edge 46 thereof, where it falls to the rotary impeller,indicated in its entirety by the reference character 41'. This rotaryimpeller comprises a, hollow body member or drum 48 having a pluralityof blades 49 extending radially therefrom, the body member 48 beingmounted upon a shaft 50 disposed within the housing formed by thecylindrical wall and the end walls 52, the cylindrical wall 5| beingdisposed in close proximity of the paths of travel of the outer ends ofthe blades 49 of the rotary impeller 41.

In order to break up large masses of fuel pushed to the discharge edgeof the spill plate 46 by the reciprocating rams, there is provided anequalizer mechanism now to be described and indicated in its entirety bythe reference char acter 55. This equalizer comprises a plurality ofsections, or a single long section, of plate 56 extending transverselyof the spreader mechanism and secured by supports 51 to thetransverselyextending rod or shaft 58, supported by the spreader sidewalls 59 (Fig. 3). The plates 56 are provided with vertically extendingcorrugations forming forwardly-directed vertical ribs 60 which, when theequalizer is reciprocated, serve to scrape fuel from the face of themass thereof as it is pushed rearwardly by the rams, the fine particlesof fuel scraped or shredded, falling to the rotary impeller 41therebelow.

Such transverse reciprocation of the equalizer is secured by means ofthe engine 63, operating through'the crank 64 and link 65 to reciprocatethe rod 66. This rod is disposed in parallel relation to the rod 58 towhich the equalizer plates are secured, the rod 66 being slidablysupported by bearings '61 and 68 carried by the bearing bracket 69,secured to the side wall 52' of the spreader housing. A link 10 isrigidly secured to the rod 66 and is connected to the rod or shaft 58 bythe springs 1| and 12 disposed at opposite sides of the link 10 andhaving their outer ends abutting against the collars 13 and 14,respectively, rigidly secured to the shaft or rod 58.

In order to maintain the equalizer plates 56 in contact with the fueladjacent the discharge end of the spill plate 45, regardless of theposition of the latter with respect to the vertical center line of therotary impeller 41, the equalizer plate supports 51 are provided withextensions 15, connected by springs 16 to fixed supports 11 thereabove,the extensions 15 of the supports 51 extendin at an angle to the generalplane of the equalizer plates 56, whereby the tension in the springs 16urges the equalizer plates against the fuel as it is fed to thedischarge end of the spill plate 45.

It will be noted that the spill plate may be adjusted forwardly orrearwardly with respect to the vertical center line of the rotaryimpeller 41 by suitable means,'such as the shaft 19 mounted in bearings80 and 8| and havingthreaded engagement with the depending lug 82,carried by the forward end of the spill plate 45'. The rod 19 may beprovided at its forward end with suitable means for rotating the same,for example, the handwheel 83. g

While the invention has been shown in but one form, it will be obviousto those skilled in the art that it is not so limited, but issusceptible of various changes and modifications without departing fromthe spirit thereof, and it is desired, therefore m'lw em h limH-qtjnngshall be 4 placed thereupon as are specifically set forth in theappended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. Spreader stoker mechanism comprising a hopper, a rotary impeller, aspill plate adapted to receive fuel from the hopper and to discharge itto the rotary impeller, means for feeding fuel rearwardly over the spillplate from the hopper to the rotary impeller, elongated plate structureextending transversely of the spreader mechanism adjacent the reardischarge edge of the spill plate, means mounting said plate structurefor reciprocable transverse movement, means providing a plurality ofprojections on the forward face of the plate structure, and means forimparting transverse reciprocatory motion to said plate stru re, wherebythe projections on the face of the plate structure break up the mass offuel fed to the rear discharge edge of the spill plate.

2. Structure as specified in claim 1, including means urging the forwardface of the plate structure against the fuel as the latter reaches therear discharge edge of the spill plate.

3. Spreader stoker mechanism comprising a hopper; a rotary impeller; aspill plate positioned with its rear discharge edge overlying the rotaryimpeller; means for feeding fuel rearwardly from the hopper to therear,,discharge edge of the spill plate; a shaft extending transverselyof the spreader mechanism above said spill plate discharge rear edge;bearings supporting said shaft for axial reciprocation; plate structurecarried by said shaft and extending downwardly therefrom insubstantially parallel relation thereto, said plate structure beingcorrugated vertically; means urging the corrugated front face of theplate structure against the fuel as the latter reaches the reardischarge edge of the spill plate, and means for imparting reciprocatorymotion to the shaft and its associated plate structure.

4. Spreader stoker mechanism comprising an impeller, a spill platehaving its rear discharge edge disposed in overlying relation to theimpeller, means for feeding fuel rearwardly along the spill plate to therear edge thereof, and means reciprocable in directions parallel to saidspill plate rear edge and in contact with the fuel as the latrotaryimpeller, means for feeding fuel rearwardly from the hopper along thespill plate to the rear edge thereof, means reciprocable in directionsparallel to said spill plate rear edge and in contact with the fuel asthe latter reaches said rear edge for equalizing the feed of fuel fromthe spill plate to the impeller, and means for imparting reciprocatorymotion to said equalizing means.

6. Spreader stoker mechanism comprising a hopper, an impeller, a spillplate having its rear discharge edge disposed in overlying relation tothe impeller, means for feeding fuel from the hopper to the reardischarge edge of the spill plate, and continuously movable meansadjacent the rear discharge edge of the spill plate for engaging thefuel as it reaches said rear discharge edge of the spill plate and forscraping it off continuously in uniformly small quantities forgravitational discharge to the impeller therebeneath.

7. Spreader stoker mechanism comprising a hopper, an impeller, a spillplate having its rear discharge edge disposed in horizontal overlyingrelation to the impeller, means for feeding fuel from the hopper to thedischarge edge of the spill plate, and horizontally reciprocable meansadjacent said spillplate rear discharge edge for rubbing the mass offuel as it reaches the discharge edge of the spill plate to reduce thefuel to relatively small quantities prior to its engagement by theimpeller therebelow.

8. Spreader stoker mechanism comprising a hopper; an impeller; a, spillplate having its rear discharge edge disposed in overlying relation tothe impeller; ram mechanism for pushing fuel rearwardly over the spillplate for discharge therefrom to the impeller; and a member transverselyreciprocable in directions parallel to the spill plate rear edge and inclose proximity thereto, said member having a roughened surface adaptedto engage the fuel as it reaches the discharge edge of the spill plate,transverse movement of the roughened surface against the fuel beingadapted to scrape oil the latter in small quantities and to distributeit laterally for gravitational discharge to the impeller.

9. Spreader stoker mechanism comprising a fuel impeller, fuel-supportingstructure having a rear discharge edge disposed in overlying relation tosaid fuel impeller, means for feeding fuel rearwardly along saidfuel-supporting structure to the rear discharge edge thereof, andcontinuously movable means adjacent said rear discharge edge forengaging the fuel as it reaches said edge and for scraping it offcontinuously in uniformly small quantities for gravitational dischargeto the impeller therebeneath.

' DONALD J. MOSSHART.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,325,589 Smith Dec. 23, 19192,146,469 Foster Feb. 7, 1939' 513,244 Newton Jan. 23, 1894 2,163,825Bros June 27, 1939 1,153,156 Fuller Sept. 7, 1915 1,436,794 Cotton Nov.28, 1922 2,001,152 Olney May 14, 1935 988,491 Newkirk Apr. 4, 19111,936,962 Chamberlin Nov. 28, 1933 1,686,131 Hamilton Oct. 2, 1923FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 330,203 France 1903 162,228 Germany1905

